Textile flyers

ABSTRACT

A FLYER FOR WINDING PACKAGES OF TEXTILE ROVING AND OF THE TYPE HAVING AN AXIAL PORTION EXTENDING IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION FROM THE LEGS OF THE FLYER SO AS TO BE CAPABLE OF JOURNALLING IN ONE OR MORE BEARINGS HAS THE AXIAL PORTION FORMED ALONG ITS LENGTH WITH A PASSAGE HAVING A CONFIGURATION SUTH THAT THE ROVE FOLLOWS A DEVIOUS PATH. THE RESULTANT CHARGES OF DIRECTION CAUSE THE FIBERS TO BE PRESSED TOGETHER LATERALLY THUS BINDING THEM TOGETHER AND PERJITTING CONSIDERABLY GREATER TENSION TO BE APPLIED TO   THE ROVE THUS RENDERING IT POSSIBLE TO WIND ROVE WITH VERY LOW TWIST WITH CONSIDERABLY GREATER TENSION THAN PREVIOUSLY SO AS TO FORM A FIRM PACKAGE. THE DEVIOUS PATH MAY BE FORMED EITHER BY A HELICAL GROOVE IN A CENTRAL MEMBER FITTED WITHIN AN OUTER SHELL OR BY MEANS OF A TUBE SHAPED TO A SINUOUS CONFIGURATION AND MOUNTED WITHIN AN OUTER SHELL.

Der 7, 1971 J. K. P. MAcKlE TEXTILE FLYERS 'Filed March 9, '1970 2 Sheets-Sheet l J. K. P. MACKIE TEXTILE FLYERS Dec. 7.--1-971 2 Shoots-Sheet 2 Filed March 9, 1970 United States Patent 3,624,998 TEXTILE FLYERS John Kay Pringle Mackie, Belfast, Ireland, assignor to James Mackie & Sons Limited, Belfast, Ireland Filed Mar. 9, 1970, Ser. No. 17,570 Claims priority, application Great Britain, Mar. 12, 1969, 13,045/ 69 Int. Cl. D01h 7/26 U.S. Cl. 57-115 12 Claims ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE A yer for winding packages of textile roving and of the type having an axial portion extending in the opposite direction from the legs of the flyer so as to be capable of journalling in one or more bearings has the axial portion formed along its length with a passage having a configuration such that the rove follows a devious path. The resultant changes of direction cause the bres to be pressed together laterally thus binding them together and permitting considerably greater tension to be applied to the rove thus rendering it possible to wind rove with very low twist with considerably greater tension than previously so as to form a firm package. The devious path may be formed either by a helical groove in a central member fitted within an outer shell or by means of a tube shaped to a sinuous configuration and mounted within an outer shell.

This invention relates to the formation of packages of rove by means of a flyer supported by an axial portion extending in the opposite direction from the legs of the flyer and mounted in one or more bearings. The flyer is normally suspended from these bearings and is referred to as having an overhead mounting but the same form of arrangement may be used either horizontally or even inverted. A flyer of this type is most commonly used for the spinning of yarn and the yarn needs to be led through the centre of the axial portion before passing along one of the legs of the flyer. When a flyer of this type is used with very low twist rove it is not normally possible to apply much tension to the rove largely due to the fact that the rove is unsupported during its passage through the axial portion. As a result the ultimate package is loosely wound and has a low density.

According to the present invention a flyer for use with low twist rove and having an axial portion extending in the opposite direction from the legs as just described has the axial portion formed along its length with a passage of such a configuration that the rove is able to follow a devious path such as to cause the fibres to bind together. The binding together of the fibres permits considerably greater tension to be applied to the rove and once the rove has passed through the axial portion this tension may be maintained merely by wrapping the rove round the leg of the flyer in accordance with normal spinning practice. In this way it is possible to wind the rove with very low twist onto the bobbin with considerably greater tension than has previously been possible leading to the formation of a firm package with its attendant advantages.

The passage through the axial portion may be defined between a central member and an outer shell or housing and the central member is then preferably removable since this facilitates the clearing of any obstruction which may occur. The purpose of the devious path is to produce successive changes of direction of the rove so that the fibres are pressed together laterally at each change of direction thus producing the required binding action. When the passage is defined between a central member 3,624,998 Patented Dec. 7, 1971 and an outer shell the rove may be caused to follow a helical path leading to a continuous change of direction throughout the length of the path and hence a substantially uniform binding action between the fibres throughout. Preferably the central member is formed with a helical groove which defines the path for the rove but alternatively the central member may merely be cylindrical. If the rove is threaded up by pulling it through the space between the central member and the outer shell by means of a piecing hook and a few turns are taken round the central member when the end of the rove emerges, these turns subsequently distribute themselves along the length of the central member so as to cause the rove to follow a helical path. A similar result may be achieved more simply if the passage follows a sinuous path substantially along the axis of the flyer. This passage may conveniently be defined by a shaped tube mounted within an outer shell. By shaping the tube in curves having a relatively large radius the necessary binding action may be produced over quite a large proportion of the sliver path. The binding action is not as uniform as with a helical path but it is found to be quite adequate in practice and as just mentioned the construction involving the sinuous path is considerably simpler.

Constructions in accordance with the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows the upper portion of a yer partly in section, and

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the upper portion of an alternative construction also partly in section.

FIG. 2A is a partial perspective View showing a modification of the embodiment of FIG. 2.

Turning first to FIG. 1 the yer comprises a pair of legs 1 and 2 of which the lower portions extending parallel with the axis are broken away. An axial portion indicated generally as 3 extends in the opposite direction to the legs 1 and 2 and is journalled in bearings 4 and 5 from which the fiyer as a Whole is suspended. This is referred to as an overhead mounting but effectively the same construction can be used either horizontally or inverted. The bearings 4 and 5 are secured to a bracket 6 and the assembly is driven by a pulley 7.

The rotation of the yer in relation to the delivery speed of rove shown.as 11 delivered from a pair of delivery rollers 12 and 13 imparts only a very low twist to the rove so that without the improvement in accordance with the present invention only a low tension can be applied and the ultimate package is loosely wound. In accordance with the present invention the rove 11 is caused to follow a sinuous path throughout the length of the axial portion 3 of the flyer. This path is defined by a tube 1'5 which is bent in alternate directions to form curves of relatively large radius as seen particularly at the points marked 16. The tension in the rove in conjunction with the changes of direction represented by the curves just described causes the rove to bind against the interior of the tube at the points marked 16 so that the fibres are pressed together in a lateral direction thus binding the fibres together and giving the rove considerably greater tensile strength.

The tube 15 extends within an outer shell 18 which is closed by a screw cap 19 at the top formed with a funnel shaped mouth 20 which engages the end of the tube but is not connected to it. At its lower end the tube 15 terminates in an enlarged portion 22 to which it is connected and this portion is screwed into a socket 23. As a result the portion 20 together with the tube 15 can be unscrewed so as to remove the tube 15 from the shell 18 in a downward direction for cleaning purposes. The part 22 also has a funnel shaped mouth 24 which is located on the axis of the yflyer and enables the rove 11 to be passed in a smooth curve to the left as shown in FIG. l. From there it passes along the surface of the leg to a guide projection 25 which assists the binding action in providing an additional change of direction and below this point the rove continues along a helical path round the leg of the flyer 1. A piecing hook can easily be inserted along the tube 15 and when withdrawn pulls the rove with it to give the configuration shown in FIG. 1. Apart from cleaning the removability of the tube renders it interchangeable so as to accommodate a wide range of sizes of rove.

The alternative construction of FIG. 2 differs from that of FIG. l only in the configuration of the passage through the axial portion 3 of the yflyer and various parts such as the bearings and pulley have therefore been omitted while others are identified by the sarne reference numerals. In this construction the axial portion 3 is again defined by an outer shell similar to that in FIG. y1. It is fitted with an upper cap shown as 30 which is connected to and angularly locates a central member 31 formed with a helical groove 32 which defines the path followed by the rove 11. At the lower end of this helical groove the rove emerges through an opening 33 offset from the axis so as to allow the rove to start directly on its helical path round the leg l1 as shown in FIG. 2. As with the previous construction a piecing hook can easily follow the helix of the central member 31 to enable the rove to be threaded up and the rove then lies in the space between the groove 32 and the outer shell 18. Removal of the cap 30 permits removal of the member 31 either for cleaning or for purposes of interchangeability, The central member 31 is somewhat more complicated to fabricate than the shaped tube 15 of FIG. 1 but to the extent that it provides a binding action along the full length of the helical groove 32 it does have a slightly greater strengthening effect on the rove 11.

In the modification of FIG. 2A, the central member is a cylinder 35. When the rove is threaded by pulling it through the space between the central member 35 and the outer shell 18 by means of a piercing hook and a few turns are taken around this central member when the end of the rove emerges, these turns subsequently distribute themselves along the length of the central member 35 as shown in part in FIG. 2A so as to cause the rove to follow a helical path.

With either of theV two constructions illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 including FIG, 2A the increased tension which can be applied to the roving as a result of the configuration of the passage through the axial portion l3 permits the formation of much firmer packages than heretofore with all the resultant advantages.

I claim:

1. In a flyer for winding packages of textile roving said flyer having a pair of legs extending in one direction and an axial portion extending in the opposite direction, journal bearings surrounding the said axial portion and supporting the flyer, the axial portion being of suflicient length to accommodate said journal bearing, the improvement which comprises means within said axial portion for forming along its length a passage of such a configuration that the rove passing through this passage follows a devious path such that the walls of the passage exert a force on the rove in a direction laterally relative to the axis of the axial portion, thus causing the fibres to bind together.

2. A llyer according to claim 1, in which said axial portion includes a central member and an outer shell, said passage being defined between said member and said shell.

3. A flyer according to claim 2, in which said central member is formed with a helical groove.

4, A flyer according to claim 3, in which said central member is removable.

l5. A flyer according to claim 2, wherein the passage is a helical passage formed into the exterior of the central member.

6. A -flyer according to claim 2, wherein the passage is an annular cylindrical opening between the central member and the outer shell, whereby a roving wrapped around the central member several turns as it travels through the axial portion follows a helical devious path therethrough.

V7. A flyer according to claim 1, in which said axial portion includes means defining a sinuous passage substantially along the axis of said flyer.

8. A flyer according to claim 7, in which said means comprises an outer shell and a shaped tube mounted within said outer shell.

9. A Lilyer according to claim 8, and including an enlarged portion on said tube at the end of said tube adjacent said legs of said llyer, said enlarged portion being formed with a screwthread engaging a complementary screwthread formed in a socket at the end of said axial portion whereby to permit removal of said tube in the direction of said legs.

10. A flyer according to claim 7, and including a guide projection located between the end of said passage and the beginning of one of said legs.

|11. yIn the process of winding packages of textile roving using a flyer of the type in Which a pair of legs extend in one direction and an axial portion extends in the opposite direction and the axial portion is relatively long such that it accommodates journal bearings which surround the axial portion and support the flyer, the improvement including the step of: exerting forces on the roving in at least two directions which are lateral relative to the axis of the axial portion as the roving passes through the axial portion, to bind the fibres of the roving together as the roving passes through the axial portion, such that the tension applied to the roving as it passes through the axial portion can be increased without breaking the roving.

12. The method of claim 111 in which the said lateral forces are applied by directing the roving over a devious path as it passes through the axial portion such that walls defining the devious path exert said lateral forces.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 43,961 8/ 1864 Aldrich et al. 57-117 1,325,345 12/1919 Benoit '57--115 2,294,742 9/ 1942 Fraser 57-4115 3,380,238 4/1968 Araki et al 57-ll5 X FOREIGN PATENTS 510,605 8/1939 Great Britain 57-115 JOHN PETRAKES, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 57-15 6 

